


No Vacancy

by agirlnamedtruth



Category: Bates Motel (2013)
Genre: Emotional Infidelity, Episode Related, F/M, Internal Conflict, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 03:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1495144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/pseuds/agirlnamedtruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma had thought it was safe to get over Norman. Then, of course, he had to go and ruin that for her by being all <i>knight in shining armor</i>-y.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Vacancy

**Author's Note:**

> Set during 2x06 Plunge. Written for the [Writerverse](http://writerverse.livejournal.com/) prompt "no vacancy".

Emma stared out of the window, over the desk, into the dark, at the glowing neon sign. She told herself she was only working late because it said _no vacancy_ not because it said _Bates_ Motel.

On nights when they were fully booked, Mrs Bates often struggled on her own, with Dylan gone and Norman at tech with Cody, so it wasn't unusual that she'd asked for help in her roundabout way that made Emma volunteer before she could actually get it out.

She'd offered to man the desk while Mrs Bates ran room service and caught up on the maid service. Emma reasoned it was because she was quicker with the mouse while Mrs Bates was quicker with a duster. It was completely not so she could look out the window and watch out for Cody's car. With Norman in it.

Emma blinked and looked away from the sign, shaking off the thought like a dog shook off water. She'd thought she was safe now. Safe to move on. Safe to get over him. Under someone else.

Gunner had come by about an hour ago, asking her what the plan was. She was rather relieved when she could blame work for her total lack of a plan. It wasn't that she didn't like him anymore. She _did_. She just felt guilty for every thought she had about Norman and not about him. And the rate at which her mind turned, that was a whole lot of guilt. Not to mention confusion and frustration and sadness and perhaps, buried deep, a little bit of hope fluttering like butterflies in her stomach.

He had saved her, hadn't he? Well, yes, alright, _anybody_ could have saved her, it didn't have to mean anything but he hadn't just saved her. He'd flown to her defense, angry at even the idea harm could come to her and furious at Cody for encouraging her even if she had _wanted_ to do it. That had to mean something, right? Especially that he stood up for her against Cody, who he was... _whatever_ with.

Emma sighed. It didn't mean anything, not really. All it meant was that they were friends. Friends cared, that's what made them friends. She cared about Norman. It didn't _mean_ anything. She cocked her head to the side, ruining the tip of her tongue over her back teeth. But it did mean something to her.

It meant more to her. It wasn't supposed to. It had pulled back after a while like a tide. So it was a bit inevitable that sooner or later it would come crashing back. She shivered, the metaphor making unpleasant memories resurface.

The car she was waiting for pulled up and suddenly it wasn't just an unpleasant memory, it was a re-enactment. She couldn't breathe. Her heart was in her throat. A force so immovable weighed down on her like a torrent of water. She took a deep breath and fought to break the surface as Norman walked past the door. He wasn't stopping, even though the door was open.

"Hi Norman," she near shouted from behind the desk, taking a much needed deep breath.

"Oh, hey Emma." Norman stopped and stuck his head around the door frame but still, he didn't come in.

"Did you have a nice night... with Cody?" she pressed, the cold water like daggers in her chest again.

"Yeah, I guess. It was only tech," Norman said with a shrug.

"Still, that's good. I'm glad you had fun," Emma said, backed into a corner by her own politeness. "It's good you have fun... with her."

Norman shrugged, his shoulder digging into the door jamb where he'd leaned so long. He might as well take up residence. She could ask him to stay.

"What about you? Did you work all evening?" Norman asked, concern filtering through him alarmingly fast. "Did you have anything to eat, you should come to the house, I'm sure-"

Emma shook her head, fighting again to keep her heart from doing something dangerous, like exploding. She needed to sort herself out before she could spend time with him as a friend again.

"No, I'm fine. I just wanted to see you got back ok," Emma said before kicking herself. Great, now she sounded like his mother. "I guess I've done that now. I should..."

She reached for something she {should} do and came up blank. Nothing she could say. Not aloud, at least.

"You should go, if you want," Norman finished for her, picking up her fallen thought. "Take a break, at least. I'm here now, I can take over."

"I'm fine, I finish at ten anyway. It's not like I'll be here all night." Emma sat up a bit straighter, heart beating in her throat and her cheeks flushing with expected rejection as she slid some papers over the desk. "You could stay though, help me with these."

Norman paused but he eventually pushed away from the door as though waking up from a dream. Or as if he remembered he had better things to do than log the details of tonight’s customers. "I should find my mom; let her know I'm back. She worries."

"Oh, no, of course, that's cool," Emma said, struggling for a brush off to commit to and failing. It was better to put this thing out of its misery before it got embarrassing. "Night, Norman."

"Night, Emma," Norman said as he melted back into the darkness.

Emma turned her eyes back up to the illuminated sign, the impression of Norman lingering in the artificial light. She played back every word in her head, cringing at how badly she'd handled it.

The sign blinked for a minute and she wondered just how far from reality her thoughts had drifted and where her heart kept trying to lead her, away from her nice, normal relationship with Gunner and back into the swirling maelstrom that was Norman Bates. She'd thought she'd been pulled free of those waters but she was spluttering still, trying to get her breath back as she clung onto the idea of him.

The sign blinked again, enough for her to really look at it but as if soothed by her attention, it glowed bright and steady again. Her heart skipped a beat in agreement.

No vacancy indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> As of 01/01/18, I'm opting to disable comments. [More information here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13077201).


End file.
